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OK, I’m declaring it. The worst of the cold is over. Has to be. On Friday it will be 30 degrees. It will also be the last day of January. As my friend Mark used to say, “If you get to February, it’s practically over.” That’s not true, Groundhog Day foolishness to the contrary, but it’s close enough to true that you can fool yourself about it for a while. Then it’s Valentine’s Day, the traditional time to have an ice storm at this latitude, and then it’s just a fortnight until the shortest month of the year is over, and it’s March. First St. Patrick’s Day, then the first day of spring really arrives, along around the three-week mark. Then opening day, the first green mist on the trees.

Of course, this being Michigan, there will be a few snows in there, too. Last year I had my eye surgery on May 2. The spring leading up to it was awful, and the warmth arrived just as I was spending five days staring through my padded toilet seat.

So: Just (potentially) three more months of winter! But you see how I chopped it up like that? It’s just a series of fortnights and little mini-holidays.

But the -7 bullshit of this morning? OVER. So let it be written, so let it be done.

Seems like a day for a You Fuckers roundup. I was in a toleratin’-it mood until 3 p.m., when I called the bakery to find out what was left before I trudged over there, and discovered the entire place had been cleaned out. Time for some fuckers.

Perhaps you’ve heard about the jihad against Wendy Davis, aka “Abortion Barbie,” who is said to have slept her way into marriage to an affluent man, who then had to “raise their kids alone” while she went off to Harvard Law school. The slut! How dare she…do what conservatives counsel poor women to do, i.e., boost her socioeconomic status through marriage? Well — it shouldn’t surprise you to learn this — it turns out that it’s not entirely true. So: Fuckers.

And then there’s the National Review, specifically Kathryn Jean Lopez, abortion warrior, and this thing. I think Roy Edroso said it best: Put the family through hell with your ghoulish wingnut theology, then weep crocodile tears over them. Fuckers.

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59 responses to “One day at a time.”

MaryRC said on January 29, 2014 at 1:40 am

The euphemisms Lopez uses to describe what happened to the mother are sickening: the mother “collapsed”, she was “on life support”, she was “reported to be dead by neurological criteria”. The mother died. They were pumping air into a corpse. And that doesn’t fill Lopez with horror and grief because she will come up with as many pious evasions as she can think of, rather than face the truth.

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Dexter said on January 29, 2014 at 3:20 am

It’s as cold as nance says. It’s still below zero F here. Minus one. It’ll be two above zero at 8:00 AM. Sick of my late-night oatmeal or grits as a warmer-upper, I drove down to the grocery store for a bag of cornmeal and made a giant pot of mush. I cannot imagine a more plebian, proletarian, po’folks food. In a bowl, hot as Hades, a spoonful of sugar, a splash of milk, and down the pie hole it goes. Instantly removes the post-dog-walk shivers. Next: I re-visit a childhood staple, Cream of Wheat. I assume it’s still produced. Tomorrow the real treat, as I fry the leftover mush and eat it with butter and syrup.

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Dexter said on January 29, 2014 at 3:27 am

This one’s for Coozledad and perhaps anyone else who knows cows. As a boy I resided in an ancient house on a farm near Kendallville, Indiana. In horror I watched the man artificially inseminate cows, I watched cow dung removed from barn floors, I saw a cow butchered on-the-spot when another cow ran her into a jagged edged water tank and kill her, but I ain’t never ever seen or heard anything like this: http://www.sfgate.com/news/article/Gassy-German-cows-blamed-for-barn-explosion-5181695.php

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Connie said on January 29, 2014 at 6:58 am

Cream of wheat is produced in Warsaw Indiana. Or at least their corporate presence is headquartered there.

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Hattie said on January 29, 2014 at 7:14 am

Hot tip:If you want to be thought of as cool as you get older,be a man.

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beb said on January 29, 2014 at 8:50 am

Cows are a notorious source of methane. You keep them penned up in an air-tight building that methane will build up. And explosions will happen.

It’s been a while since I’ve had fried mush and anything that drenched in syrup isn’t good for my blood sugar but I liked it. Nice comfort food. Cream of wheat is still made, another nice, warm wintery food.

I didn’t watch the state of the union address but I gather the real fireworks didn’t happen until afterward when a reported asked Representative Michael Grimm (R-Staten island) a question about some questionable campaign contributions. And the man tees off with “I’ll break you in half, like a boy.” Besides saying this in front of a live camera, the pederastic tone of the comment (is Grimm in the habit of breaking boys in half?) is sure to keep this story going for a while.

Apparently Madona is in Zha-Zhaland where’s she’s famous for being famous and must work hard at reminding people she’s famous because otherwise she would just be a very rich retired person.

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coozledad said on January 29, 2014 at 8:58 am

Dexter: My cows don’t seem to fart nearly as much as the mules.

The mules just have a very long gut filled with microorganisms to break down lignins and dextrins in forage. They’re not as efficient at converting starches as cattle, so they fart these epic streams of methane. Fortunately they lift their tails as a warning.

On a hot day you can see the vapor boil off, even from a safe distance.

William Murdoch, the inventor of the first steam powered automobile and gas lighting, carried a portable lighting device made from a (pig’s?)bladder, a hose and a combustion nozzle. I’m surprised he didn’t try and come up with something to attach to a horse’s ass so he could be the inventor of headlights, too.

It would be nice to think that Wendy Davis’ daughters have driven a stake through Bristol Palin’s leathery little heart. It was almost fun to watch her try and punch up, but she was obviously fucking with Nemesis.

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brian stouder said on January 29, 2014 at 9:05 am

I watched Rachel Maddow gently puree some idiot Congressional Representative during the post-game.

The guy was a genuine maroon -fixated on (wait for it) Benghazi-Benghazi-Benghazi!!!

Ms Maddow asked if he voted FOR the increased funding for Embassy security, or AGAINST it, and was instantly jeered as a “cheerleader for Obama”….and she coolly pressed on, as he projected angry white spittle on the camera.

And then I turned the tv off and went to bed.

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A different Connie said on January 29, 2014 at 9:16 am

You know that even now the Texas hospital’s accounting department is preparing a bill probably approaching a million dollars for the Munoz family for care of a corpse.

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nancy said on January 29, 2014 at 9:21 am

And the hospital will probably say it’s only following the law. I don’t blame the hospital specifically, but my feelings toward them softened when they opted not to appeal the judge’s ruling — if they’d fought it, I’d be in favor of burning it to the ground.

But I thought that NatRev piece was revelatory, because it really shows what we’re dealing with here. Delusion. Feminists like to say people like K-Lo think of women as incubators, and I can’t think of a better case to be made for it than her own words.

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coozledad said on January 29, 2014 at 9:27 am

Kathryn Jean Lopez reminds me of those old Ultramontanists who’d entomb their dead in a cellar so they could comb and wash them until they finally fell apart. She’s a funeral aunt.

When I was in college, watching the Republicans beginning to blow smoke up Reagan’s ass, I had no idea of the dimensions the cult would assume following his death. They’re so fatally bound up in that corpse they’ve had to shoehorn in the Isis-Osiris phase (the Osiris factor being any Republican with a similar shorthair doglike pelt on his head).

If I ate meat, I damn sure wouldn’t eat any at Kathryn Jeans’ house.

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brian stouder said on January 29, 2014 at 9:51 am

Beb at 6 – I’ll have to search that story up. Apparently before the “break you in half like a boy”, the Member of Congress threatened to throw the reporter ‘off the fucking balcony’ –

and this is on videotape – ??

I’d say the angry white spittle-flecked creeper might get pitched out of Congress, for that…..or not.

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LAMary said on January 29, 2014 at 9:57 am

When Madonna appeared on stage in that white outfit I thought the white pimp walking stick was a cane. Whatever she’s doing to her face does not make her look younger. She looks her age and then some. The stupid outfit and grill don’t help. That whole mass wedding thing was cheesy as hell.

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Minnie said on January 29, 2014 at 10:07 am

Dexter – CHEESE grits.

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Jenine said on January 29, 2014 at 10:17 am

@Minnie, I learned that I could make a quick cheaters version of polenta with instant grits some Monterey Jack and parmesan. With some homemade tomato sauce it is a great lunch.

I went to bed early last night, there was no point in staying up and being cold. Just finished reading The Long Winter by Laura Ingalls Wilder to my girls. Having only been exposed to her work via the tv series, I found it better written than I expected. Nonetheless it was a little too accurate and I was sick of reading about the relentless blizzard winds by the end. Time for something set in the south seas…

Here’s a caption for video link of the incident, in the halls of Congress, after the State of the Union Address:

Rep. Michael Grimm (R-Staten Island) moves toward NY1 reporter Michael Scotto during confrontation that led to a threat from the Congressman. “Let me be clear to you, you ever do that to me again I’ll throw you off this f—–g balcony,” Grimm said, according to the cable news channel.

It is interesting to look at the reaction to Michael Grimm’s threatening, profane response to a reporter versus Richard Sherman’s postgame remarks calling an opponent a “sorry receiver.” I’ll you guess which one blew up Twitter, and what the tenor of the response was (Sherman, if you don’t know, is an African-American, dreadlocked professional football player.)

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Sue said on January 29, 2014 at 10:37 am

“I appreciate the way that Madonna refuses to become invisible in her middle age, as women are so aggressively encouraged to do.”
Aggressively encouraged? Like we have any choice.
Lots of Colonel Sanders references about Madonna, plus I saw an Arby’s reference about that guy in the hat.

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Connie said on January 29, 2014 at 10:45 am

Oh, Beb, bad news in the news today for water department employees. Are you going to be OK? Connie

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brian stouder said on January 29, 2014 at 10:45 am

Madonna was OK; I thought Seacrest was rude to her, and (it seemed to me) she was working to keep a professional tone with that guy, on the red carpet.

Aside from that, the young lady from New Zealand – Lorde – was refreshing, wasn’t she?

She reminded me of nothing so much as a student in a Geo-CAD class at our daughter’s high school (and ineed, at 17 years old she could well be just that!)

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MichaelG said on January 29, 2014 at 10:45 am

Dexter, us toney folks call that polenta.

Mary, from yesterday, yes, I shop at Corti Bros, but more often at Taylor’s Mkt which is closer. Corti Bros has a great wine dept, great deli dept and just in general a fine selection of stuff you can’t get elsewhere, including some interesting frozen food.

Forgot to post this with my above comment, when I tried to post this comment I was told I was posting comments too quickly and should slow down. Haven’t seen this before.

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Bitter Scribe said on January 29, 2014 at 10:53 am

K-Lo’s grief and compassion, plus ten cents, are worth two nickels.

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A. Riley said on January 29, 2014 at 11:08 am

Speaking of hot cereal — I’ve been looking for Quaker’s Whole Wheat Pettijohns for years. I used to like them when I was a kid — anyone seen them lately?

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Peter said on January 29, 2014 at 11:50 am

My cousin’s son (from France) is in town for a few days, so yesterday afternoon I took him around downtown, where he learned a lot about architecture and America. To wit: We checked out the Cook County Court Building (aka Daley Center), and got the metal detector treatment; an upper floor of the State of Illinois Building, and that took a bag search and metal detector treatment; and the Federal Reserve Bank Visitor’s Center, and that took a bag search, metal detector, and a pat down. City Hall: nothing. My guest asked a policeman why there was no security check at City Hall compared to the other places, and the response was pure Chicago: “They worry you might have a gun. We only worry if you miss”.

I’ve been following it on the Guardian, since the NYTimes is pretty much not really covering it at all. I think I’m going to finally, after decades, give up my subscription to the NYT. All I ever read is the stupid lifestyle articles, which then just piss me off.

Big news here — new kitty! The surviving dog was lonely, and the pantry mouse is back, so I went to the Humane society yesterday looking for a cat who likes dogs and might kill a mouse. Came home with a black girl kitty, missing most of one ear to frostbite, and part of the other is scarred as well. She’s very sweet, and we’re trying to come up with a name. Himself suggested “Getty” — close to “kitty” and easier to say than “Holyfield.” I think “Getty” might transmute to “Betty.” She seems like a Betty, and it’s a good Clyde Park sort of name (which is where she came from, some kids found her abandoned in a barn).

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alex said on January 29, 2014 at 12:05 pm

My outdoor kitty’s going back out now that the weather is stabilizing. I bought her a cat box and she still shits on the floor.

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brian stouder said on January 29, 2014 at 12:10 pm

For some reason, that reminded me of Johnny Cash.

Whereas he sang ‘I shot a man in Reno, just to watch him die’ –

she seems to be saying ‘I shit the floor for Alex, just to make him sigh’

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brian stouder said on January 29, 2014 at 12:10 pm

For some reason, that reminded me of Johnny Cash.

Whereas he sang ‘I shot a man in Reno, just to watch him die’ –

she seems to be saying ‘I shit the floor for Alex, just to make him sigh’

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LAMary said on January 29, 2014 at 12:10 pm

Call that corn meal mush Polenta and it changes everything. You should put some parmesan, black pepper and a soft boiled egg on it.

Cream of Wheat is still around I and eat it regularly. I’m anemic and it’s a good source of iron.

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Jeff Borden said on January 29, 2014 at 12:16 pm

The most obnoxious thing about Kathryn Jean Lopez –and, sure, there are thousands to choose from– is that she is unmarried and childless. This makes her prattling on and on and on about abortions and family choices and all the agonizing real world things married parents must confront ring even more hollow. In this, she shares the same mantle as Ann Coulter and Laura Ingraham, who love to tell other women how to do things they’ve never even attempted. Also remember that like everyone else at National Review, Lopez works for a subsidized publication that cannot cover its own expenses and resorts to annual or bi-annual beg-a-thons, so she also knows jackshit about capitalism. These idiots never need to fear the bite of declining revenues or falling circulation because their right-wing sugar daddies will always write them a check. They truly live in a parallel universe.

I’ve also been wondering about who will foot the bill for all the unnecessary time that poor woman was kept in the hospital. It would be an act of utter contempt and cruelty for the family that argued all along that she should be released from her hell on earth be required to pay for it. Lopez, of course, says nothing on that subject.

I’ve always been ambivalent to mildly negative on Madonna, thanks largely to the enormous amount of self-worship depicted in “Truth or Dare” and her constant refrain that she is an “ahhhhtist” rather than a performer. If she wants to stick around, fine by me. Like all women in the public eye, she is held to different standards than her male counterparts and good on her for flipping the bird to those who tell her what to do.

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Charlotte said on January 29, 2014 at 12:46 pm

Alex — I was hoping she’d use the outside, but while I drove to the store to get a litter box, she decided to shit on my bed. Sigh. Let’s hope that now she’s fully equipped ….

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beb said on January 29, 2014 at 12:48 pm

Connie’s news item came as a surprise to me. I had to read the article to find out what’s going on. According to the article this only applies to non-union employees. I am in a union. Of course the emergency manager doesn’t seem to much care about such distinctions. On the other hand. the department is going through a massive reorganization lead by a company that seems to think massive automation can eliminated 80% of the workforce. Clearly these are insane people. But like most kleptocrats, they are the ones in charge. One part of the reorganization is that all job titles will be changed and everyone will have to reapply for their jobs. I can’t tell whether these 600 lay-off notifications are flat-out firings or announcements that these people have to reapply for their jobs. I’ll know more a week from. Either I get one of those letters or I don’t.

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Dexter said on January 29, 2014 at 2:55 pm

On a page I used to frequent I made friends with two older folks, one was a super-cool lady from Neptune, NJ, and one was a man from further down the Jersey Shore, and they would recall their early days in Italian homes. The meals always started off with a bowl of macaroni, which of course is what I was taught to call spaghetti, and the sauce took hours to make just right. One course they reminisced about on that message board was the polenta. As I recall there were more ingredients mixed in, though. I can’t remember what the hell those ingredients were, and the lady passed away in 2008.

Yeah, beb, drenching the re-fried mush in butter and syrup is hell on blood sugars but damn is it good.

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Dexter said on January 29, 2014 at 3:01 pm

A store clerk here in town likes to talk to me about pop music and different concerts and venues he has been to. He’s a gay dude in his mid-forties. He loves to tell of the time he and his man friend went to Detroit to see Madonna and she was two hours late. He said he truly loves Madonna and he would have waited all through the night to see her. Of course the crowd was widely populated with gay men; he had a ball.
He asked me the last time I was in his store, “Who would you go see in concert if you could?” No stuttering from me: Bruno Mars. I would love to go see that fella put on a show. O hell yes!

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LAMary said on January 29, 2014 at 3:07 pm

Dexter there are all kinds of things you could put in polenta. In my experience it’s always savory. I like the basic parmesan version myself.

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Dexter said on January 29, 2014 at 3:17 pm

OK…and now I seem to recall that Frankie, the older guy from Jersey, said his mom put spicy Italian sausages into the polenta.
And Minnie, cheese topping off a bowl of scalding hot grits is great, I concur.
First time I had grits was in Winston-Salem in 1968 in a city diner. “Y’all wunt greeee-itz with they-uttt?”
What the fuck did she say? And so I said yes, and I first tasted North Carolina-cooked grits. Still eatin’ ’em 46 years later. Tasty.

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LAMary said on January 29, 2014 at 3:27 pm

I make a thing with polenta, italian sausage and white beans that’s very tasty.

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brian stouder said on January 29, 2014 at 3:55 pm

Mary – I’ll stop at the store and bring the ingredients. What time are you aiming for, for dinner?

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MichaelG said on January 29, 2014 at 4:02 pm

Jalapeno goes very well in polenta. Chopped. There is something about corn and jalapeno that just weds them beautifully. I make a nice shrimp and polenta with a sauce thing that I first encountered in South Carolina.

We’re expecting to get some rain here today for the first time in 46 or 47 days. And this is the rainy season. Sacto is in a very serious drought situation right now.

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Connie said on January 29, 2014 at 4:24 pm

Nancy, looks like as of today Patch is pretty much gone from the region. From Deadline Detroit:

Editors at Patch, which includes 30 hyper local news sites in Southeast Michigan, received word this morning of companywide layoffs that have put the news sites they managed at a standstill.

According to one source, who took part in a conference call explaining the layoffs this morning, all of the roughly 15 employees in Michigan were laid off today.

It was unclear what will happen to the sites following the layoffs, but editors in Michigan lost the ability to post to the sites today, the source said.

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Basset said on January 29, 2014 at 4:45 pm

Microwave grits, cheese chopped up in it and an egg on top for the last minute – then go shower and get dressed, it’ll be cool enough to eat by then.

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Dexter said on January 29, 2014 at 5:07 pm

..off to the store for some white beans (gotta be pre-cooked this time anyway) and some sausage. Then: improvise.

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nancy said on January 29, 2014 at 5:09 pm

Add kale, garlic and lots of red pepper flakes. That’s what we had for dinner, night before last.

Ingredients
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, plus extra
1 medium onion, thinly sliced
10 ounces sweet or spicy Italian sausage, cut into ¾-inch pieces
¼ cup red wine
1 cup tomato purée
Salt and freshly ground pepper
One 15-ounce can cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
One 17-ounce package instant polenta
1 teaspoon chopped parsley
Instructions
In a large skillet with high sides, warm the olive oil over medium heat. Add the onion, and sauté until translucent, about 3 to 4 minutes. Add the sausage, and sauté until golden on all sides, about 4 to 5 minutes. Add the wine, bring to a simmer, and cook until the liquid has evaporated, about 5 minutes. Stir in the tomato purée, season with salt and pepper, and cook for 5 minutes, stirring often. Add the cannellini beans, and cook for another 3 to 4 minutes.

Meanwhile, cook the polenta according to the directions on the package. When the polenta is finished cooking, spoon it onto a serving platter. Top the polenta with the sausage mixture, and sprinkle with chopped parsley. Drizzle with olive oil, and serve.

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LAMary said on January 29, 2014 at 5:30 pm

Forget the instant polenta and make it from scratch. It’s not difficult.

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MarkH said on January 29, 2014 at 5:33 pm

Dexter @44, I was thinking the same thing. In addition to which, LAMary would you just go open up your little reataurant already? Not a few of us would make our way over.

Michael G, you anin’t a-kiddin’ on the water situation there. Gov. Brown’s alarm was disturbing enough and i just saw this today:

Last night we had hog dogs and potato salad so it’s not all polenta and sausages around here. I got home around 7:30 last night so I was not up for a big cooking experience. Tonight on the other hand is thick boneless pork chops and arugula, fennel and blood orange salad.

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Kim said on January 29, 2014 at 6:10 pm

LAMary, thanks for those recipes/inspirations. Last night it was that delicious french pork stew – worth the midweek effort for an unusual snow day in these parts. Tonight, leftovers, but tomorrow is looking like polenta surprise.

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LAMary said on January 29, 2014 at 6:31 pm

The delicious French pork stew is a wonderful thing.

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Suzanne said on January 29, 2014 at 6:51 pm

I was going to make that French pork stew the other day, but can’t figure out where my pork went. I was sure I bought some, but maybe not.

Re the French pork stew: I’m not a fan of fennel. Is the fennel flavor strong? How do you think it would be if I left it out? Any suggestions for a substitute?

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LAMary said on January 29, 2014 at 7:56 pm

The fennel is not strong. It sort of disappears but adds to the flavor.

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Dexter said on January 29, 2014 at 8:14 pm

I did something right…my wife ate it too. 🙂

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LAMary said on January 29, 2014 at 8:49 pm

Strong work, Dexter.

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Dexter said on January 29, 2014 at 10:22 pm

I sort of OD’d on fennel a couple times, once overdosing a pork roast with it and once the damn top came off the container and I dosed some pork chops , and after that experience I quit using fennel for a while. I know…just a little is all we need.
Strong work indeed, LAM. 🙂 Next time I’ll buy some kale and throw it in the pot. Nance said so.

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Deborah said on January 29, 2014 at 10:36 pm

Pork stew sounds terrific, polenta and Italian sausage too. I’m going to have to find a recipe for polenta from scratch.

I love fennel, especially on salads. LB made a good Persian cucumber salad tonight that tasted like summer.